Why in News
In a sign of expanding focus on military diplomacy, India is set to send defence attachés (DA) to a number of its missions in Africa for the first time
The move is part of a larger adjustment of the DA in Indian missions scattered across continents and regions and is being implemented as India deals with dynamic situations in Indo-Pacific, Red Sea-Indian Ocean and Eurasia
A Defence Attache (DA) is a member of the armed forces who serves in an embassy as a representative of his/her country's defence establishment abroad and in this capacity enjoys diplomatic status and immunity
DA is a generic term that covers personnel from all branches of the armed services, although some larger countries may appoint an attaché to represent an individual service branch, such as an air force or naval attaché.
The DA is usually responsible for all aspects of bilateral military and defence relations.
Some countries also deploy attachés to work on other security issues, such as migration or police and justice matters.
The main roles of the DA are as follows. He/she
1) is an advocate for his/her country’s military and security interests,
2) represents his/her country’s military authorities and liaises with those of the host country
3) provides a security-policy and military network capable of operating even in times of troubled
or reduced bilateral relations,
4) acts as a military and/or security advisor to his/ her ambassador and embassy staff ,
5) observes conditions in the host country with a bearing on security and reports on them to home country authorities,
6) oversees and manages activities in the area of military outreach, defence diplomacy and security cooperation, both in bilateral exchanges and through multilateral programmes such as NATO’s Partnership for Peace,
7) promotes, in some instances, the home country armaments industry and
8) may play a role in spearheading emergency response and relief eff orts when crises arise.
The scope and structure of each country’s DA system varies as a function of its security priorities and available resources.
A given country embassy may have no attaché, a single DA responsible for all military relations, or several attachés representing diff erent branches of the armed forces
COMMENTS